N. Korean leader accompanied by sister during public tour

N. Korean leader accompanied by sister during public tour
SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was accompanied by his
only sister during his latest tour to a music school, the North's state media
said Monday, reporting on her first such media appearance.

Kim Kyong-hui, a department director in the Workers' Party, was last seen in a
still photo of a parliamentary meeting in 2003. Although she has been
photographed at general events -- such as her father and North Korean founder Kim
Il-sung's funeral in 1994 and parliamentary photo sessions -- Kim Jong-il's
sister has never been seen on a public tour along with her brother.
Kim Kyong-hui is married to Jang Song-thaek, who is believed to have risen as the
country's No. 2 figure since leader Kim Jong-il reportedly fell ill last summer.
Kim Jong-il "gave guidance" for the production of the Russian opera "Evgeni
Onegin" at the Pyongyang Kim Won Gyun Conservatory, the report said. He was
accompanied by Workers' Party "Secretary Kim Ki-nam and department directors Kim
Kyong-hui, Jang Song-thaek and Choe Ik-gyu," it said.
The sister's appearance raised speculation about an allegedly ongoing power
transfer process in the North. Her husband is believed to play a regent's role in
grooming the leader's third and youngest son, Jong-un, as his successor.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers last week that Jong-un
appears to have been tapped as the heir.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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